onesto Italian · revision 38242

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=13th century, Guidotto da Bologna|origins=la honos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /oˈnɛs.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''onesto''' (feminine onesta, masculine plural onesti, feminine plural oneste, superlative onestissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|honestus|t=honourable, respectable]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective is derived from [[m|la|honōs|t=honour, esteem]], the older form of [[m|la|honor]] (see [[onore]]).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) The OLD and DEI start from an old neuter stem, like [[m|la|decus]] beside [[m|la|decor]], and DEI and the GDLI compare [[m|la|fūnestus|t=deadly]] from [[m|la|fūnus|t=funeral]].^(OLD 2012)^(DEI|2654)^(GDLI) The word entered the language of philosophy, where Cicero defined the honourable as what can rightly be praised for itself, without any advantage or reward.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The same learned word is [[fro|oneste]], recorded in 1125, modern [[fr|honnête]], and [[es|honesto]].^(GDLI)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Guidotto da Bologna, in the 13th century, for a person incapable of wicked or unlawful acts.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Chiaro Davanzati in the same century uses it as a noun for an honest person, and Brunetto Latini, before 1294, has ''l'onesto'', what is right and honourable.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ DELI calls ''onesto'' Dante's favourite adjective.^(DELI 1999) In Dante's sonnet ''Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare / la donna mia quand'ella altrui saluta'' (“So noble and so dignified my lady seems when she greets others”) it means dignified and decorous, a sense now archaic.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Dante also uses it as an adverb: Farinata hears him “speaking so courteously” (''parlando onesto'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Of a woman the word long meant chaste.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) Before 1294 it is used of what agrees with moral law, and around 1300 of what is fair and acceptable, as in a fair price.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo's dictionary of 1869 is the first to record the sense “incorruptible”.^(DELI 1999) In modern use the word can also limit praise, for a person or a work that is conscientious but unremarkable.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The noun [[onestà]] is recorded before 1292 in Bono Giamboni, and as ''onestate'' in Brunetto Latini.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – Guidotto da Bologna uses ''onesto'' for an upright person.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses it as a noun.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – ''Onestà'' in Bono Giamboni.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the sense “consistent with moral law”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 13th or early 14th century – The sense “fair, acceptable” in the statutes of the confraternity of Orsanmichele.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo records the sense “incorruptible”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|honest]], upright: acting fairly and refraining from wrongdoing: ''Mio nonno era un uomo onesto e generoso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Fair in dealing; content with a fair profit: ''un meccanico onesto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Conscientious but unremarkable: ''un onesto romanzo d'avventura''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # In keeping with morality; lawful, legitimate: ''guadagnarsi da vivere con un lavoro onesto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Fair, reasonable; [[m|en|sincere]], impartial: ''un prezzo onesto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(dated)'' Of a woman, [[m|en|chaste]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(literary)'' Dignified, decorous, honourable.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An honest person.^(Wiktionary)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # What is honest and honourable.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[onestà]]

+ * [[onestamente]]

+ * [[disonesto]]

+ * [[coonestare]]

+ * [[onestare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[onore]]

+ * [[la|honestus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Before a noun beginning with a vowel the word can be elided, as in ''onest’uomo''.^(GRADIT 2003) Its opposite is [[disonesto]].^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}